Editing Guttural (section)

{{short description|Pronounced using the throat}}
'''Guttural''' [[Phone (phonetics)|speech sound]]s are those with a primary [[place of articulation]] near the back of the oral cavity, where it is difficult to distinguish a sound's [[place of articulation]] and its [[phonation]]. In popular usage it is an imprecise term for sounds produced relatively far back in the vocal tract, such as the German ''ch'' or the Arabic [[ayin]], but not simple glottal sounds like ''h''. The term 'guttural language' is used for languages that have such sounds.

As a technical term used by [[phonetician]]s and [[phonologist]]s, ''guttural'' has had various definitions. The concept always includes [[pharyngeal consonant]]s, but may include [[velar consonant|velar]], [[uvular consonant|uvular]] or [[laryngeal consonant]]s as well.
Guttural sounds are typically [[consonant]]s, but [[breathy voice|murmured]], [[Pharyngealization|pharyngealized]], [[glottalization|glottalized]] and [[strident vowel]]s may be also considered guttural in nature.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Miller | first = Amanda | title = Guttural vowels and guttural co-articulation in Juǀʼhoansi | journal = Journal of Phonetics | volume = 35 | issue = 1 | pages = 56&ndash;84 | date = 2007 | doi=10.1016/j.wocn.2005.11.001| url = https://zenodo.org/record/3731729 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Pullum | first1 = Geoffrey K. | author-link = Geoffrey K. Pullum | last2 = Ladusaw | first2 = William  | title = Phonetic Symbol Guide | publisher = University of Chicago Press | edition = Second | date = 1996 | location = Chicago | isbn = 978-0226685359| title-link = Phonetic Symbol Guide }}</ref>
Some phonologists argue that all post-velar sounds constitute a [[natural class]].<ref>Scott Moisik, Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins & John Esling (2021) Phonological potentials and the lower vocal tract</ref>